Ladies and gents, brace yourself for the big news:
In a week I leave for my longest trip ever, at least duration wise cause I've ridden all the way from Greece to Morocco and back years ago (OK, with the help of some ferries too):
This year I'll be with my motorcycle on the road for the next 4 months, starting again from mama Hellas all the way up to Holland and then back. To be honest I'd like to go via Italy which I've missed visiting due to COVID complications despite the countless times I've been there. You can see some of them by clicking here. (Each pin has a link to the related travelogue)
However, ferries are overbooked and crazy priced so this led me to plan crossing the Balkans instead. Balkans are far from high on my list but since I've never crossed Serbia I decided so a bit less heavy hearted.
I share the news right now cause I am not sure at all when it will be the next time I will have the chance to do so cause this week is beyond hectic for me. I have to move my stuff back to my house in Athens, visit my dentist (nothing serious), meet other commitments and then pack and go.
Meanwhile I'll have to say goodbye to my guitar rig which kept me a silent stereo company during my sleep:
but a far from silent one while I was awake playing 🙂 No clip of me playing this set up but you can see me here on an older one rocking on the rocks:
It's also goodbye for the same four months to my drums:
Drums were luckier and captured on camera in the following clip:
I forgot my flip flops in sight cause hey, there's gotta be some Spinal Tap right? 🙂
Wanna get an idea of how my bike will look like during the upcoming adventure?
Be my guest:
The above rough images were taken recently during test rides I did with this set up. Not the best looking but very functional taking advantage of (almost) every space available without going too wide and too heavy. Weight is the reason I prefer soft bags than hard ones. They are cheaper too which is welcome. Though I must admit I took the "cheap" to a whole new level bringing it down to a ridiculously low cost by using cheap backpacks, an idea that I started a couple of years ago (you can read here ).
It's not about cheap as much as it is about Value For Money. The dedicated motorcycle gear is overpriced and when it is really good it can get crazy expensive. I can buy a truck full of those bags for the price of one really good motorcycle set.
Not all bits are cheap though, my good old trusty tank bag from Bagster which sits behind me on my saddle is not cheap but super VFM and unbreakable. It has followed me in ALL my motorcycle AND plane trips so far with success and still goes strong. The reason I am not putting it on my tank where it originally belongs is because I want this space in front of me a little more empty allowing me to stand on the pegs if needed plus it creates more wind noise from turbulence while it is on the tank. Also the rear top case is far from cheap but this GIVI Maxia has proved to be as bulletproof over all these years. I just saved it from some useless plastics and got half a kilo out of it. You may say "what's the point?" but every grammar mounted so rear and high on a motorcycle plays a (bad) role. And this is already heavy from factory at 5kg.
This next tour should be aptly named though. It is going to be a special one for me as it is my first post COVID one abroad, definitely special for aiming to be my most long lasting one but (last but not least), since I am a 100% self financed traveller with zero sponsoring I feel the need to underline that this is my first riding attempt abroad since I joined HIVE so...ladies and gents,
Welcome to The HIVE Tour !
You're welcome to be my pillion via my posts as I'll be riding our super lovely continent.
Thanks in advance for your vibes, wishes and attention and who knows...we might meet out there somewhere in Europe!
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